坚持

• Pinyin: jiān chí
• Hanzi breakdown: 坚 = 又 (hand) + 土 (earth) — holding firm to the ground; 持 = 扌(hand) + 寺 (temple, phonetic) — to hold and maintain

Meaning

To persist; to insist on; to keep up with; to stick to something despite difficulty or opposition.

Implies determination and continuous effort over time. Can be used positively (坚持锻炼 — keep exercising consistently) or to indicate stubbornness (坚持自己的看法 — insist on one's own view). Often collocates with 下去 to emphasise continuation: 坚持下去 (keep going, persevere). Contrasts with 放弃 (give up).

Examples

1. 学好中文需要坚持每天练习。 Learning Chinese well requires persisting with daily practice.
2. 他坚持认为自己的做法是对的。 He insists that his approach is correct.
3. 不管多难，她都坚持完成了任务。 No matter how difficult it was, she persisted and completed the task.

Usage Guide

Context: study, work, sport, everyday

Tone: determined

Do Say

• 你要坚持下去，不能放弃。(You must keep going — you can't give up.)
• 她坚持每天早起锻炼。(She persists in getting up early to exercise every day.)

Don't Say

• 我坚持了一个苹果每天。(Don't use 坚持 with a noun object unless paired with a verb. Say 我坚持每天吃一个苹果 — 坚持 must be followed by a verb phrase, not just a noun.)

Origin & History

Compound of 坚 (firm, hard, solid) and 持 (to hold, to maintain). Together they mean 'to hold firmly' — to maintain a position or effort without giving way.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal